Malnutrition
In recent years, our staff have seen worsening trends in malnutrition, especially among children, as many Yemeni families have lost their sources of livelihood during the last decade of political and economic instability and conflict. To date, the international humanitarian response to the crisis in Yemen has been insufficient to meet people’s immense needs.
In 2024, MSF offered acute and intensive therapeutic nutrition care in seven governorates, both as part of our regular activities and as stand-alone emergency responses. These included outpatient and inpatient pediatric therapeutic feeding centers in the towns of Ad-Dahi, Az-Zaydiyah and Al-Qanawes, in Hodeidah; an inpatient therapeutic feeding center in Abs Mother and Child Hospital in Hajjah; an inpatient therapeutic feeding center in Al-Salam Hospital in Khamer, Amran governorate; an outpatient therapeutic feeding center in the Hygiene Fund health care center, in Marib; and Al-Jomhouri Hospital and Mother and Child Hospital in Taiz. In Saada and Amran, MSF maintained a regular contingency plan to start treating malnourished patients in case of a rapid surge in numbers.
Vaccine-preventable diseases
There has been a marked increase in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Yemen in recent years, due in part to falling vaccination coverage. As the country’s health care system has continued to deteriorate, many people, in particular children, have missed out on routine vaccinations, leaving them vulnerable to diseases such as cholera, acute watery diarrhea, measles, and diphtheria.
In 2024, MSF launched emergency responses in nine governorates in collaboration with the health authorities to tackle outbreaks of cholera, acute watery diarrhea, measles, and diphtheria.
In addition, in Marib and Taiz, MSF delivered logistical support to the Ministry of Health for a mass catch-up routine vaccination campaign for children and pregnant women.
Maternal and child health care
Maternal and child health care continues to be a core element of our activities in Yemen. In 2024, we ran a range of specialized maternal, neonatal, and pediatric services, comprising pre- and postnatal consultations, assistance with deliveries, including cesarean sections, and both inpatient and outpatient care. In Hajjah, MSF supported the maternity, neonatal, and pediatric wards at Abs General Hospital. In Taiz, our teams assisted women during deliveries and obstetric surgery and provided inpatient neonatal and pediatric care in Taiz Houban and Taiz city. We also supported Mocha General Hospital’s inpatient pediatric department.
Since 2022, we have been partnering with Ataq’s Mother and Child Hospital in Shabwa to offer pediatric and maternal health care, while in Marib we support maternity services at the Hygiene Fund health care center. In Hodeidah, we run specialist maternity and neonatal services at Al-Qanawes Mother and Child Hospital. We also provide pediatric and neonatal care for rural communities in Ad-Dahi district, in Hodeidah, and Dhi As-Sufal in Ibb. In Haydan, Saada governorate, MSF supports the Ministry of Health hospital with vital maternity services, including prenatal care programs that ensure safe pregnancy and childbirth for mothers, as well as pediatric care and physiotherapy for malnourished children In Khamer, Amran governorate, our teams also support the Ministry of Health with maternity, pediatric, and neonatal care.
In Sana’a, MSF supported the emergency room at Al-Kuwait Hospital and continued to provide treatment for children with visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected disease that is also known as kala azar. In addition, we assisted the central lab in Sana’a, supporting the microbiology department to help identify pathogens that cause infection, especially in neonatal sepsis.
Emergency health care and surgery
Our teams provided emergency care at the Aden trauma center in Aden, as well as at Taiz Houban Hospital, in Taiz, Dhi As-Sufal General Hospital, in Ibb, Ad-Dahi Rural Hospital, in Hodeidah, and Abs Mother and Child Hospital, in Hajjah. Since the truce in April 2022, there has been a reduction in fighting inside Yemen and as a result, fewer war-wounded patients. While this has enabled us to scale down our emergency surgical activities, we continue to run an operating theatre in Al-Qaeda General Hospital, in Dhi As-Sufal. MSF also donated trauma kits for mass casualty events to Al-Thawra Hospital and Al-Gamhori Hospital in Sana’a governorate.
Mental health
Years of conflict, economic hardship, and diminishing access to basic services have taken a severe mental toll on the people of Yemen. In response, we have integrated basic mental health care into all our activities in Hodeidah, Marib and Taiz governorates. In Hajjah, at Abs Hospital and our mental health clinic in Hajjah city, our teams provided psychiatric care, individual and group counseling sessions, and psychotherapy. In Hajjah city, we also ran a day center, offering psychological care, and a rehabilitation program for patients with chronic mental health conditions.
